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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Brain structure variation in great apes, with attention to the mountain gorilla (Gorilla Beringei Beringei)
American Journal of Primatology, Volume 63, No. 3, Year 2004
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Description
This report presents data regarding the brain structure of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in comparison with other great apes. Magnetic resonance (MR) images of three mountain gorilla brains were obtained with a 3T scanner, and the volume of major neuroanatomical structures (neocortical gray matter, hippocampus, thalamus, striatum, and cerebellum) was measured. These data were included with our existing database that includes 23 chimpanzees, three western lowland gorillas, and six orang-utans. We defined a multidimensional space by calculating the principal components (PCs) from the correlation matrix of brain structure fractions in the well-represented sample of chimpanzees. We then plotted data from all of the taxa in this space to examine phyletic variation in neural organization. Most of the variance in mountain gorillas, as well as other great apes, was contained within the chimpanzee range along the first two PCs, which accounted for 61.73% of the total variance. Thus, the majority of interspecific variation in brain structure observed among these ape taxa was no greater than the within-species variation seen in chimpanzees. The loadings on PCs indicated that the brain structure of great apes differs among taxa mostly in the relative sizes of the striatum, cerebellum, and hippocampus. These findings suggest possible functional differences among taxa in terms of neural adaptations for ecological and locomotor capacities. Importantly, these results fill a critical gap in current knowledge regarding great ape neuroanatomical diversity. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Authors & Co-Authors
Sherwood, Chet C.
United States, Kent
Kent State University
United States, Rockville
Found. Compar. and Conserv. Biol.
Cranfield, Michael R.
Rwanda, Ruhengeri
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project
United States, Baltimore
Medical Department
United States, Baltimore
Johns Hopkins University
Mehlman, Patrick T.
United States, Rockville
Found. Compar. and Conserv. Biol.
United States, Atlanta
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
United States, Stony Brook
Stony Brook University
Lilly, Alecia A.
United States, Rockville
Found. Compar. and Conserv. Biol.
United States, Atlanta
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
United States, Stony Brook
Stony Brook University
Garbe, Jo Anne L.
United States, Rockville
Found. Compar. and Conserv. Biol.
Rwanda, Ruhengeri
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project
Whittier, Christopher A.
Rwanda, Ruhengeri
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project
United States, Raleigh
Nc State University
Nutter, Felicia B.
Rwanda, Ruhengeri
Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project
United States, Raleigh
Nc State University
Rein, Thomas R.
United States, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Bruner, Harlan J.
United States, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Holloway, Ralph L.
United States, New York
Columbia University
United States, New York
Ny Consortium in Evol. Primatology
Tang, Cheukying
United States, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Naidich, Thomas P.
United States, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Delman, Bradley N.
United States, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Steklis, H. Dieter
United States, Atlanta
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
United States, New Brunswick
Rutgers University–new Brunswick
Erwin, Joseph M.
United States, Rockville
Found. Compar. and Conserv. Biol.
Hof, Patrick R.
United States, Rockville
Found. Compar. and Conserv. Biol.
United States, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
United States, New York
Ny Consortium in Evol. Primatology
Statistics
Citations: 38
Authors: 16
Affiliations: 12
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1002/ajp.20048
ISSN:
02752565